If you are reading this then you want to buy a DSLR. Here is how you would choose one.

I don’t like Nikons, so I’ll only talk about Canons.

Few things to consider while buying a DSLR, and they are,

Your budget,

Why do you want to use it, some features you may or may not need in the camera

The toys (lenses and accessories)

First, budget, how much are you willing to spend on a DSLR. Below I’m talking about new cameras, you can always get a used one for a good deal.

If you want to spend $500 or less, then you can get a Canon 1100D, it’s a simple stater camera, with enough features to do the job.

if you want to spend more than $500, then we should talk more about why do you need it and if you care about some features.

Will you use it for video? I guess having a camera with adjustable screen would be a plus. You have two options, one is more expensive than the other, both with adjustable screens. A $700+ Canon 700D (Older version is Canon 600D) and the Canon 70D (Older version is Canon 60D) which is more powerful, a bit bigger DSLR that costs over $900. Both camera are great and they are great with photography as well. You can see the comparisons here

Only photography? then maybe the adjustable screen wouldn’t matter. The options are much more, and we will start from the least expensive to the most.

The best one to start with and learn photography on would be the Canon 550D (I did) almost same price as the 600D of $700, but without the adjustable screen. Compare between both here.

Now those were the less than $1000 DSLRs. The next category is over $1000. If money is not a problem and you want something for a specific reason with the best quality then those are for you.

If shutter speed is essential and you want to take many photos in a short amount of time, for events like sports, then the Canon 7D is the best option for you. It was over $1500 and now it’s around $1000 or less. The newer version was released late 2014, Canon 7D MK II which costs around $2000.

If you’re into Astronomy and taking pictures of our lovely galaxy, then you would want to get the $1500 Canon 6Da and spend way more than that on the lenses you want.

Another good option is the Canon 6D, a great full frame camera with a similar price of the 7D Mark II. Here is a comparison between them.

Now, here is the best camera group and photographers dream, the Canon 5D. There are three main types of the 5D, The Mark I, Mark II and Mark III. The Mark III is the latest. I don’t think you can find a new Mark I these days, you can go old school on a $500 budget with this beast, but it’s worth mentioning that it doesn’t have video.

The two other marks are amazing, they start from $2000 and go up to $3000 or more. Here is a comparison between those two giants.

They recently published two other giants, and this time, i’m talking 51 megapixels type of giants.

The Canon 5DS and the Canon 5DS R The only difference between the models is that the ‘S’ has an optical low-pass filter, while the ‘S R’ has a self-canceling filter. Here we are talking about +$3500

And if you really want the best and you are very rich and maybe want to show off, you can get one of many versions of the Canon 1D, any mark wouldn’t really matter (If you can afford this, go get a Leica or something)
That’s basically it, there are many other cameras, I just mentioned the most common ones and easy to buy, use, find lenses for it and fix it if needed.